Ethan drew a deep breath.

He reached out, channeling his power into the control console—and in an instant, he and the Sky Citadel's weapon system became one.

A low hum surged through the air.

Then—

BOOOOOOMMMM—

The entire Sky Citadel roared to life like a slumbering steel behemoth jolted awake.

Its armored hull lit up with searing runes, casting a golden sheen across the sky itself.

Weapon systems:

Final charge sequence—initiated.

…

A roar split the heavens.

It wasn't just sound—it was pressure, like a war drum the size of a mountain slamming down from the clouds.

The Elderwood Colossus had finally sensed real danger.

Its massive frame shuddered, as if the entire forest had caught fire. Green energy surged from deep within its wooden grain, pulsing like blood from a fresh wound.

Then—

It raised one arm.

All its power condensed into a single, massive orb of dark green energy.

The sphere pulsed like a star core crushed to its limit, its surface writhing, its heart flickering with light that wanted to devour the world.

BOOM.

It hurled the orb skyward—straight at the Sky Citadel.

The air tore open behind it, leaving a black scar in its wake. Even the sky seemed to buckle under the weight.

But above it all—

Ethan stood within a golden barrier of light, one hand resting on the weapon system's firing lever. His lips curled into a faint, knowing smirk—half confidence, half mockery.

"That's your move?" he murmured.

"Too slow."

He slammed the lever down.

THOOM.

The sound was deep, resonant—like the Citadel itself had a heartbeat, and it had just thundered once.

From the belly of the fortress, a beam of pure annihilation erupted.

It was blinding—so white, so bright, it felt like it could bleach the world clean.

So bright that everyone watching instinctively shut their eyes.

Even Ethan sucked in a sharp breath.

The system interface flared red:

[Output Level: Exceeding Tier 27 – Early Phase]

Ethan's heart skipped.

He hadn't expected the Kormaldor-engineered weapon to reach this kind of monstrous output.

In the sky—

The two forces collided.

There was no explosion.

It was more like two stars in deep space trying to consume each other.

Time seemed to freeze.

Then—

KRA-KOOOOOM.

A shockwave ripped outward, tearing the clouds into a spiraling vortex.

The green energy sphere shattered, pierced clean through by the white-hot fury of the beam. It disintegrated into a thousand dim fragments, flickering out like dying embers.

The beam didn't slow.

It kept going—unstoppable, merciless—

And slammed straight into the Elderwood Colossus's chest.

THUD.

The sound was like a hammer striking the spine of the world.

The giant's body was pierced clean through.

A gaping hole opened in its chest, and the intricate network of energy-root structures inside were torn apart—ripped out like dead trees yanked from the soil.

Green life-force gushed from the wound in a torrent, a waterfall gone berserk, spilling wildly into the air.

The Elderwood Colossus's voice turned hollow, laced with disbelief and a creeping, primal fear.

"This… this is impossible…!!!"

Its massive face contorted, wooden features cracking like a forest dying all at once. Bark split open in jagged lines, and the ancient calm in its eyes gave way to panic.

It remembered—Kormaldor had once unleashed the Sky Fortress against it.

Back then, those attacks hadn't even tickled. Sometimes it would swat away entire bombardments with a single hand, like brushing off falling leaves.

But now—

One strike from a single Sky Citadel, and it hadn't even had time to think about resisting.

Its chest cavity was collapsing inward, energy gushing out in wild torrents, like a dam shattered from within.

And in that exact moment—

Ethan's army moved.

Elira shot forward like a silver bolt of lightning, diving straight into the gaping wound in the giant's chest.

Behind her, the warriors of Emerald Castle followed—streaks of light piercing into the breach like predators slipping into a sacred temple laid bare.

"Drain its energy," Ethan commanded over the comms.

Inside the wooden colossus was a world unto itself—dense with raw, primordial energy. The air shimmered with it, thick as a sea of living forest.

The warriors deployed absorption arrays, their formations lighting up as they began to siphon the energy—purifying it, drawing it into themselves.

The giant let out a soul-rending wail.

Outside, its smaller wooden warriors began to collapse—these were its spawn, fragments of its own power given form.

Now, they disintegrated all at once, like a forest of dead leaves caught in a sudden gust.

BOOM—

BOOM—

BOOM—

Chunks of splintered wood rained from the sky, turning the battlefield into a storm of falling autumn.

On the ground, the Kormaldor soldiers were speechless.

Many stood frozen, staring at the weapon they had once taken pride in—yet never truly understood.

And now, in the hands of an outsider, it had unleashed a power they'd never even imagined.

Someone whispered, stunned: "So… the Sky Citadel could do this all along…"

At the command platform, Ethan stood tall, eyes gleaming with a light that bordered on feverish.

"Perfect… absolutely perfect," he murmured.

The Sky Citadel's main cannon had just opened a door in his mind—a door to terrifying possibilities.

If they could build more… just three to five more of these fortresses…

Then no matter the Plane World, no matter the empire they faced—

One synchronized volley would be enough to turn the tide in an instant.

He was already thinking about mass production.

But before that thought could take root—

WMMM—WMMM—WMMM—

The sky twisted.

Something massive stirred the air, and dozens of black spatial vortices tore open above the battlefield.

They spun fast—like giant knots of wood unraveling in midair.

And then—

One… two… ten… dozens of Elderwood Colossi began to step out of the rifts.

Each one moved with the weight of mountains, their footsteps cracking the very fabric of space.

Every single one was identical in size and presence to the one they had just destroyed.

Tier 27—early phase.

The battlefield fell into stunned silence.

Ethan. Elira. Sol'Rakka's legions. Even the proud, unshakable Kormaldor war-armored troops—all of them froze.

"…What? There's more?"

It was the same thought in every mind.

Then, like a bucket of ice water dumped over the army's head, panic broke loose.

"Fall back! Pull back now!"

"There's too many!"

"Fire again? Are you insane? The weapon's still charging!"

"We can't fight this! Not like this!"

Everyone knew it.

That last shot had been devastating—but the Sky Citadel's ultimate weapon wasn't something you could fire on a whim.

It was the kind of energy that could tear a Plane World in half.

And there was no way it would be ready to fire again in under a minute.

Now, dozens of Elderwood Colossi were advancing, step by thunderous step.

The sky itself seemed to vanish beneath the oncoming tide of ancient wood.

...